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2/12

merican

nthropologist

NEW

SERIES

VOL.

22

OCTOBER-DECEMBER,

1920

No.

4

THE METHODS

OF

ETHNOLOGY

BY

FRANZ BOAS

DURING

the

last ten

years

the

methods

of

inquiry

into the

historical

development

of

civilization have

undergone

re-

markable

changes. During

the

second half

of

the last

century

evolutionary

thought

held

almost

complete

sway

and

investigators

like

Spencer,

Morgan,

Tylor,

Lubbock,

to

mention

only

a

few,

were under

the

spell

of the

idea of a

general,

uniform

evolution

of

culture

in

which

all

parts

of

mankind

participated.

The newer

development

goes

back

in

part

to

the influence

of

Ratzel

whose

geographical

training impressed

him

with the

importance

of

diffusion

and

migration.

The

problem

of

diffusion was

taken

up

in

detail

particularly

in

America,

but was

applied

in

a

much

wider sense

by

Foy

and

Graebner,

and

finally

seized

upon

in a

still

wider

application by

Elliot Smith and

Rivers,

so

that

at

the

present

time,

at

least

among

certain

groups

of

investigators

in

England

and also in Germany, ethnological research is based on the concept

of

migration

and

dissemination rather than

upon

that

of

evolution.

A

critical

study

of these

two

directions

of

inquiry

shows that

each is

founded

on the

application

of one

fundamental

hypothesis.

The

evolutionary

point

of

view

presupposes

that the

course of

historical

changes

in

the cultural

life of

mankind

follows

definite

laws which

are

applicable everywhere,

and

which

bring

it

about

that cultural development is, in its main lines, the same among all

races

and

all

peoples.

This

idea is

clearly

expressed

by

Tylor

in

the

introductory

pages

of

his classic work

Primitive

Culture.

As

soon

as

we

admit that the

hypothesis

of a

uniform

evolution

21

311


3/12

312

AMERICAN

ANTHROPOLOGIST

[N.

S.,

22,

1920

has to

be

proved

before

it can

be

accepted,

the whole structure

loses

its

foundation. It

is

true

that there

are

indications

of

parallelism

of development in different parts of the world, and that similar

customs

are

found

in

the most diverse

and

widely

separated

parts

of

the

globe.

The

occurrence

of

these

similarities which

are

dis-

tributed

so

irregularly

that

they

cannot

readily

be

explained

on the

basis of

diffusion,

is one of the foundations of the

evolutionary

hypothesis,

as

it

was the foundation

of

Bastian's

psychologizing

treatment

of

cultural

phenomena.

On

the

other

hand,

it

may

be

recognized

that

the

hypothesis implies

the

thought

that

our

modern

Western

European

civilization

represents

the

highest

cultural

de-

velopment

towards which all

other more

primitive

cultural

types

tend,

and

that,

therefore,

retrospectively,

we construct

an

ortho-

genetic

development

towards

our

own

modern

civilization.

It

is

clear

that

if

we

admit that there

may

be different

ultimate

and co-

existing

types

of

civilization,

the

hypothesis

of one

single

general

line of

development

cannot

be

maintained.

Opposed

to these

assumptions

is the modern

tendency

to

deny

the

existence

of

a

general

evolutionary

scheme which

would

rep-

resent

the

history

of

the cultural

development

the

world over.

The

hypothesis

that there are inner

causes

which

bring

about

similarities

of

development

in

remote

parts

of

the

globe

is

rejected

and

in

its

place

it is assumed

that

identity

of

development

in

two

different

parts

of

the

globe

must

always

be

due to

migration

and

diffusion. On this basis historical contact is demanded for enor-

mously

large

areas. The

theory

demands a

high

degree

of

stability

of

cultural traits such as

is

apparently

observed

in

many

primitive

tribes,

and

it is

furthermore

based

on

the

supposed

correlation

between

a

number

of

diverse

and

mutually independent

cultural

traits

which

reappear

in

the same

combinations

in

distant

parts

of

the

world.

In

this

sense,

modern

investigation

takes

up

anew

Gerland's

theory

of

the

persistence

of a

number

of

cultural

traits

which were

developed

in one

center

and

carried

by

man

in

his

migrations

from

continent

to

continent.

It

seems

to

me

that

if

the

hypothetical

foundations of

these

two extreme forms

of

ethnological

research

are

broadly

stated

as


4/12

BOAS]

THE

METHODS OF ETHNOLOGY

313

I

have tried to do

here,

it is at

once

clear that the correctness

of

the

assumptions

has not

been

demonstrated,

but

that

arbitrarily

the

one or the other has been selected for the purpose of obtaining a

consistent

picture

of

cultural

development.

These methods

are

essentially

forms

of

classification

of

the static

phenomena

of

culture

according

to

two distinct

principles,

and

interpretations

of

these

classifications as

of

historical

significance,

without, however,

any

attempt

to

prove

that this

interpretation

is

justifiable.

To

give

an

example:

It

is

observed

that

in

most

parts

of

the world there

are resemblances between decorative forms that are representative

and

others that

are

more

or

less

geometrical.

According

to

the

evolutionary

point

of

view,

their

development

is

explained

in

the

following

manner:

the

decorative forms

are

arranged

in

such order

that the most

representative

forms

are

placed

at the

beginning.

The other

forms are

so

placed

that

they

show

a

gradual

transition

from

representative

forms

to

purely

conventional

geometric

forms,

and this

order

is

then

interpreted

as

meaning

that

geometric

designs originated

from

representative

designs

which

gradually

degenerated.

This

method has

been

pursued,

for

instance,

by

Putnam,

Stolpe,

Balfour,

and

Haddon,

and

by

Verworn

and,

in

his

earlier

writings,

by

von den

Steinen.

While I

do

not mean

to

deny

that this

development

may

have

occurred,

it

would

be rash

to

generalize

and to claim

that

in

every

case

the

classification

which

has been

made

according

to

a

definite

principle

represents

an

historical development. The order might as well be reversed and

we

might begin

with a

simple geometric

element

which,

by

the

addition

of

new

traits,

might

be

developed

into a

representative

design,

and we

might

claim

that this order

represents

an

historical

sequence.

Both of

these

possibilities

were

considered

by

Holmes

as

early

as

1885.

Neither the one nor

the

other

theory

can

be

estab-

lished

without

actual

historical

proof.

The opposite attitude, namely, origin through diffusion, is

exhibited

in

Heinrich

Schurtz's

attempt

to

connect the

decorative

art

of

Northwest America with

that of

Melanesia.

The

simple

fact

that

in these

areas

elements occur

that

may

be

interpreted

as

eyes,

induced

him

to

assume

that

both have a

common

origin,

without


5/12

314

AMERICAN

ANTHROPOLOGIST

[N.

S.,

22,

1920

allowing

for

the

possibility

that the

pattern

in

the

two

areas--each

of

which

shows

highly

distinctive

characteristics-may

have

de-

veloped from independent sources. In this attempt Schurtz fol-

lowed Ratzel

who had

already

tried to

establish

connections between

Melanesia and

Northwest America

on

the

basis

of other

cultural

features.

While

ethnographical

research

based on

these two fundamental

hypotheses

seems to characterize

the

general

tendency

of

European

thought,

a

different

method

is at

present

pursued

by

the

majority

of American anthropologists. The difference between the two

directions

of

study may perhaps

best be summarized

by

the state-

ment

that

American

scholars are

primarily

interested

in

the

dynamic

phenomena

of

cultural

change,

and

try

to

elucidate

cultural

history

by

the

application

of

the

results

of

their

studies;

and

that

they

relegate

the

solution

of

the

ultimate

question

of

the

relative

im-

portance

of

parallelism

of

cultural

development

in

distant

areas,

as

against

worldwide

diffusion,

and

stability

of

cultural

traits

over

long

periods

to

a

future time

when

the actual

conditions

of

cultural

change

are

better

known.

The

American

ethnological

methods

are

analogous

to

those

of

European,

particularly

of

Scandinavian,

archaeology,

and of

the

researches

into the

prehistoric

period

of

the

eastern Mediterranean area.

It

may

seem

to the

distant

observer

that

American

students

are

engaged

in a

mass

of

detailed

investigations

without

much

bearing upon the solution of the ultimate problems of a philosophic

history

of human

civilization.

I

think

this

interpretation

of

the

American

attitude would

be

unjust

because

the

ultimate

questions

are as

near

to

our

hearts as

they

are

to those of

other

scholars,

only

we

do

not

hope

to

be able to

solve an

intricate

historical

problem by

a formula.

First

of

all,

the whole

problem

of

cultural

history appears

to

us

as

a

historical

problem.

In

order

to

understand

history it is

necessary

to know not

only

how

things

are,

but how

they

have

come

to

be.

In

the domain of

ethnology,

where,

for

most

parts

of

the

world,

no historical

facts

are

available

except

those

that

may

be

revealed

by

archaeological

study,

all

evidence

of

change

can

be


6/12

BOAS]

THE

METHODS

OF

ETHNOLOGY

315

inferred

only by

indirect methods. Their character is

represented

in

the

researches

of

students

of

comparative

philology.

The method

is based on the comparison of static phenomena combined with the

study

of

their

distribution.

What can

be

done

by

this

method is

well

illustrated

by

Dr.

Lowie's

investigations

of the

military

societies of

the Plains

Indians,

or

by

the

modern

investigation

of

American

mythology.

It

is,

of

course,

true that we

can

never

hope

to

obtain

incontrovertible

data

relating

to the

chronological

sequence

of

events,

but

certain

general

broad

outlines

can

be

ascer-

tained with a high degree of probability, even of certainty.

As soon as these

methods

are

applied, primitive

society

loses

the

appearance

of

absolute

stability

which is

conveyed

to

the student

who sees

a certain

people

only

at a certain

given

time. All cultural

forms

rather

appear

in

a

constant state

of

flux and

subject

to

fundamental

modifications.

It is

intelligible

why

in our

studies the

problem

of

dissemination

should take

a

prominent position.

It is

much easier to

prove

dis-

semination

than to

follow

up

developments

due to inner

forces,

and the data

for

such

a

study

are

obtained

with much

greater

difficulty. They

may,

however,

be observed

in

every

phenomenon

of

acculturation

in

which

foreign

elements

are

remodeled

according

to

the

patterns

prevalent

in

their

new

environment,

and

they may

be

found

in

the

peculiar

local

developments

of

widely spread

ideas

and

activities.

The

reason

why

the

study

of

inner

development

hhs not been taken up energetically, is not due to the fact that from

a

theoretical

point

of

view it is

unimportant,

it is

rather

due to

the

inherent

methodological

difficulties.

It

may perhaps

be

recognized

that

in

recent

years

attention is

being

drawn to

this

problem,

as

is

manifested

by

the

investigations

on

the

processes

of

acculturation

and

of

the

interdependence

of

cultural

activities which are

attract-

ing

the

attention of

many investigators.

The further pursuit of these inquiries emphasizes the importance

of

a

feature which is common

to all

historic

phenomena.

While

in

natural sciences

we

are

accustomed

to

consider

a

given

number

of

causes

and

to

study

their

effects,

in

historical

happenings

we are

compelled

to

consider

every

phenomenon

not

only

as effect

but


7/12

316

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

[N.

s.,

22,

1920

also as cause. This is

true

even

in the

particular

application

of

the

laws

of

physical

nature,

as,

for

instance,

in

the

study

of

astronomy

in which the position of certain heavenly bodies at a given moment

may

be considered as the effect of

gravitation,

while,

at the

same

time,

their

particular arrangement

in

space

determines

future

changes.

This relation

appears

much more

clearly

in

the

history

of

human

civilization.

To

give

an

example:

a

surplus

of food

supply

is

liable to

bring

about

an

increase

of

population

and an

increase

of

leisure,

which

gives

opportunity

for

occupations

that

are not

absolutely necessary

for the needs of

every day

life.

In

turn the increase of

population

and of

leisure,

which

may'be

applied

to

new

inventions,

give

rise to a

greater

food

supply

and to

a

further

increase

in

the

amount

of

leisure,

so that a

cumulative

effect

results.

Similar

considerations

may

be

made

in

regard

to

the

important

problem

of the

relation

of

the

individual to

society,

a

problem

that

has

to

be considered

whenever

we

study

the

dynamic

conditions of

change.

The

activities

of

the

individual are

determined

to a

great

extent

by

his social

environment,

but in turn his own activities

influence

the

society

in

which

he

lives,

and

may

bring

about

modi-

fications

in

its form.

Obviously,

this

problem

is

one of

the

most

important

ones

to be

taken

up

in

a

study

of

cultural

changes.

It is

also

beginning

to attract the

attention

of

students

who

are no

longer

satisfied

with

the

systematic

enumeration

of

standardized

beliefs

and

customs

of

a

tribe,

but who

begin

to

be

interested in

the

question

of the way in which the individual reacts to his whole social environ-

ment,

and to the

differences

of

opinion

and of

mode of

action

that

occur

in

primitive

society

and

which

are

the

causes

of

far-reaching

changes.

In short

then,

the

method which

we

try

to

develop

is

based on a

study

of

the

dynamic

changes

in

society

that

may

be

observed

at

the

present

time.

We

refrain

from the

attempt

to

solve

the

funda-

mental

problem of

the

general development

of

civilization

until

we

have

been

able to

unravel

the

processes

that

are

going

on

under

our

eyes.

Certain

general

conclusions

may

be

drawn

from

this

study

even

now. First

of

all,

the

history

of

human

civilization

does

not


8/12

BOAS]

THE

METHODS

OF ETHNOLOGY

317

appear

to

us

as

determined

entirely by

psychological

necessity

that

leads

to

a

uniform

evolution

the world

over.

We rather

see

that

each cultural group has its own unique history, dependent partly

upon

the

peculiar

inner

development

of

the social

group,

and

partly

upon

the

foreign

influences to

which

it

has

been

subjected.

There

have

been

processes

of

gradual

differentiation

as well as

processes

of

leveling

down differences between

neighboring

cultural

centers,

but it would

be

quite impossible

to

understand,

on the

basis

of

a

single

evolutionary

scheme,

what

happened

to

any

particular people.

An

example

of

the contrast between the

two

points

of

view

is

clearly

indicated

by

a

comparison

of

the

treatment of

Zufii

civi-

lization

by

Frank

Hamilton

Cushing

on the one

hand,

on

the other

by

modern

students,

particularly

by

Elsie Clews

Parsons,

A.

L.

Kroeber

and

Leslie

Spier. Cushing

believed that

it

was

possible

to

explain

Zufii

culture

entirely

on

the basis

of

the

reaction of

the

Zufii

mind

to its

geographical

environment,

and

that

the

whole

of

Zufii

culture could

be

explained

as the

development

which followed

neces-

sarily

from the

position

in which the

people

were

placed. Cushing's

keen

insight

into the

Indian mind and

his

thorough knowledge

of

the

most

intimate

life of the

people gave

great

plausibility

to

his inter-

pretations.

On

the

other

hand,

Dr.

Parsons' studies

prove

con-

clusively

the

deep

influence

which

Spanish

ideas have

had

upon

Zufii

culture, and,

together

with

Professor

Kroeber's

investigations,

give

us

one

of

the best

examples

of

acculturation that have come

to our notice. The psychological explanation is entirely misleading,

notwithstanding

its

plausibility,

and

the

historical

study

shows us

an

entirely

different

picture,

in

which the

unique

combination of

ancient

traits

(which

in

themselves are

undoubtedly

complex)

and

of

European

influences,

have

brought

about the

present

condition.

Studies

of

the

dynamics

of

primitive

life

also show

that

an

assumption

of

long

continued

stability

such as

is

demanded

by

Elliot Smith is without any foundation

in

fact. Wherever primi-

tive

conditions

have

been

studied

in

detail,

they

can

be

proved

to

be

in

a

state

of

flux,

and

it would seem

that

there

is

a

close

paral-

lelism

between

the

history

of

language

and the

history

of

general

cultural

development.

Periods of

stability

are

followed

by periods


9/12

318

AMERICAN

ANTHROPOLOGIST

[N.

S.,

22,

1920

of

rapid

change.

It is

exceedingly

improbable

that

any

customs

of

primitive people

should

be

preserved

unchanged

for

thousands

of years. Furthermore, the phenomena of acculturation prove

that a transfer of customs from one

region

into

another without

concomitant

changes

due

to

acculturation,

are

very

rare.

It

is,

therefore,

very

unlikely

that ancient

Mediterranean

customs could

be

found

at the

present

time

practically

unchanged

in

different

parts

of

the

globe,

as

Elliot Smith's

theory

demands.

While

on

the

whole

the

unique

historical character

of

cultural

growth

in

each area

stands

out as

a

salient

element

in

the

history

of

cultural

development,

we

may

recognize

at

the

same

time

that

certain

typical parallelisms

do

occur. We

are, however,

not so

much

inclined

to look

for

these

similarities

in

detailed customs

but

rather

in

certain

dynamic

conditions which

are

due

to social or

psychological

causes that

are

liable

to

lead to

similar

results.

The

example

of

the relation

between

food

supply

and

population

to

which I referred before

may

serve as an

example.

Another

type

of

example

is

presented

in those cases in which a certain

problem

con-

fronting

man

may

be

solved

by

a limited

number

of

methods

only.

When

we

find,

for

instance,

marriage

as a

universal

institution,

it

may

be

recognized

that

marriage

is

possible

only

between

a

number

of

men

and

a

number

of

.women;

a

number

of

men

and one

woman;

a number

of

women

and one

man;

or one

man and one

woman.

As a matter

of

fact,

all

these forms are found

the

world

over

and

it is, therefore, not surprising that analogous forms should have been

adopted

quite

independently

in

different

parts

of

the

world,

and,

considering

both the

general

economic conditions of

mankind and

the

character

of

sexual

instinct

in

the

higher

animals,

it also

does

not seem

surprising

that

group

marriage

and

polyandrous marriages

should

be

comparatively speaking

rare.

Similar

considerations

mpy

also be

made in

regard

to the

philosophical

views

held

by

man-

kind.

In

short,

if

we

look

for

laws,

the laws

relate to the

effects

of

physiological,

psychological,

and

social

conditions,

not to

sequences

of

cultural

achievement.

In

some

cases a

regular sequence

of these

may

accompany

the

development

of

the

psychological

or social

status. This is

illus-


10/12

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THE

METHODS

OF

ETHNOLOGY

319

trated

by

the

sequence

of

industrial inventions

in

the

Old World

and

in

America,

which

I consider as

independent.

A

period

of

food

gathering and of the use of stone was followed by the invention of

agriculture,

of

pottery

and

finally

of

the

use

of

metals.

Obviously,

this

order is

based

on

the

increased

amount

of

time

given by

man-

kind

to the use

of

natural

products,

of

tools

and

utensils,

and to

the

variations

that

developed

with it.

Although

in

this

case

parallelism

seems

to exist

on

the two

continents,

it would

be

futile to

try

to

follow

out the

order

in

detail.

As a

matter

of

fact,

it

does

not

apply

to

other

inventions.

The domestication of

animals, which,

in the

Old World must

have

been

an

early

achievement,

was

very

late

in

the

New

World,

where domesticated

animals,

except

the

dog,

hardly

existed

at

all at

the

time of

discovery.

A

slight beginning

had

been

made

in

Peru

with

the domestication of the

llama,

and

birds

were

kept

in various

parts

of the continent.

A

similar

consideration

may

be

made

in

regard

to

the

develop-

ment

of

rationalism. It

seems

to

be

one of

the fundamental

char-

acteristics of the

development

of mankind that activities which

have

developed

unconsciously

are

gradually

made the

subject

of

reasoning.

We

may

observe

this

process

everywhere.

It

appears,

perhaps,

most

clearly

in

the

history

of

science

which

has

gradually

extended

the

scope

of

its

inquiry

over

an

ever-widening

field

and

which

has

raised into

consciousness

human

activities that are

automatically

performed

in

the

life

of the

individual and

of

society.

I have not heretofore referred to another aspect of modern

ethnology

which

is

connected

with

the

growth

of

psycho-analysis.

Sigmund

Freud

has

attempted

to show that

primitive

thought

is

in

many respects

analogous

to those

forms of

individual

psychic

activity

which he has

explored

by

his

psycho-analytical

methods.

In

many respects

his

attempts

are similar

to

the

interpretation

of

mythology

by

symbolists

like

Stucken.

Rivers has taken

hold of

Freud's

suggestion

as

well as of

the

interpretations

of

Graebner

and

Elliot

Smith,

and

we

find,

therefore,

in

his

new

writings

a

peculiar

disconnected

application

of a

psychologizing

attitude

and

the

application

of

the

theory

of

ancient transmission.

While

I

believe

some of

the ideas

underlying

Freud's

psycho-


11/12

320

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

[N.

s.,

22,

1920

analytic

studies

may

be

fruitfully

applied

to

ethnological

problems,

it

does

not

seem

to

me

that the

one-sided

exploitation

of

this

method will advance our understanding of the development of

human

society.

It

is

certainly

true that the influence

of

impressions

received

during

the first

few

years

of life

have

been

entirely

under-

estimated

and

that

the social

behavior

of

man

depends

to

a

great

extent

upon

the earliest

habits which

are

established before

the

time

when

connected

memory

begins,

and that

many

so-called

racial

or

hereditary

traits

are

to

be

considered rather

as a

result

of

early exposure

to a certain form

of

social conditions.

Most

of

these

habits

do

not

rise

into

consciousness

and

are, therefore,

broken

with

difficulty only.

Much

of

the

difference

in

the

behavior

of

adult male

and female

may go

back

to this

cause. If, however,

we

try

to

apply

the

whole

theory

of

the

influence

of

suppressed

desires to

the

activities

of

man

living

under different social

forms,

I

think

we extend

beyond

their

legitimate

limits the

inferences

that

may

be

drawn from

the

observation

of

normal and

abnormal

individual

psychology.

Many

other factors are of

greater

impor-

tance.

To

give

an

example:

The

phenomena

of

language

show

clearly

that

conditions

quite

different from

those

to

which

psycho-

analysts

direct

their

attention

determine

the mental behavior

of

man.

The

general

concepts underlying language

are

entirely

unknown

to

most

people.

They

do not rise

into consciousness until the

scientific

study

of

grammar begins.

Nevertheless,

the

categories

of

language

compel us to see the world arranged in certain definite conceptual

groups

which,

on

account

of

our

lack

of

knowledge

of

linguistic

proc-

esses,

are

taken as

objective categories

and

which,

therefore,

impose

themselves

upon

the

form of

our

thoughts.

It is not

known what the

origin

of

these

categories may

be,

but

it seems

quite

certain

that

they

have

nothing

to do with

the

phenomena

which are

the

subject

of

psycho-analytic

study.

The

applicability

of

the

psycho-analytic theory

of

symbolism

is

also

open

to

the

greatest

doubt.

We should

remember that

symbolic interpretation

has

occupied

a

prominent position

in

the

philosophy

of

all

times. It is

present

not

only

in

primitive

life,

but

the

history

of

philosophy

and

of

theology

aboufnds

in

examples


12/12

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THE

METHODS

OF ETHNOLOGY

32I

of

a

high

development

of

symbolism,

the

type

of

which

depends

upon

the

general

mental

attitude

of

the

philosopher

who

develops

it.

The

theologians

who

interpreted

the Bible on the basis of

religious

symbolism

were

no

less certain

of

the correctness

of

their

views,

than

the

psycho-analysts

are

of

their

interpretations

of

thought

and

conduct

based

on

sexual

symbolism.

The

results

of

a

symbolic

interpretation depend

primarily upon

the

subjective

attitude

of

the

investigator

who

arranges

phenomena according

to

his

leading

concept.

In

order

to

prove

the

applicability

of

the

symbolism

of

psycho-analysis, it would be necessary to show that a symbolic

interpretation

from

other

entirely

different

points

of

view

would

not

be

equally

plausible,

and that

explanations

that leave

out

symbolic significance

or

reduce it to

a

minimum,

would

not

be

adequate.

While,

therefore,

we

may

welcome

the

application

of

every

advance

in

the

method

of

psychological

investigation,

we cannot

accept

as an

advance in

ethnological

method the crude

transfer of

a

novel,

one-sided

method

of

psychological investigation

of

the

individual

to

social

phenomena

the

origin

of

which

can

be shown

to

be

historically

determined and to

be

subject

to

influences

that

are

not at all

comparable

to those

that control the

psychology

of

the

individual.

COLUMBIA

UNIVERSITY,

NEW YORK CITY

the method of ethnology

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